A Series of Fortunate Events

Menu

Post navigation

We are not friends. We have never been friends. I neglect you & you just feel like a ton of work without not much in return. Now my other friends, Facebook, Instagram & Twitter… those guys? We get along just fine. So in the spirit of new beginnings in the New Year, I’m going to start over with you, bloggity blog. Let’s play nice.
2014 Declarations

Grow mermaid hair (I like how you think I’m kidding… Nope! I want it LONG)

Manage health issues (2013 kicked me in the teeth. I got run down the gauntlet more than a few times. I really can’t thank my family, friends AND clients who stayed with me, were my cheerleaders & have been really patient with me when I couldn’t offer much in return. You guys are literally why I’m still here. LOVE. YOU. ALL)

Give more to my dreams than to others’ (This might sound selfish, but I have the really bad habit of dropping everything I’m doing & working to throw myself into helping someone else on their path… I’m sure it’s good karma though.)

Photography hiatus is officially over (I needed a break, needed to recover, needed to reassess, needed to get pumped again.)

Redesign my crippled website (It’s been 2 years of trying to realize my vision for a good online representation of my company. I’ve given up on others & am doing it myself. Working on the bones of it all this week!)

Financial mumbo jumbo (Going to get this train on the right track… & kick some debt in the ass)

Paint apartment (Or move to a new one… if I’m still here 6 more months, I’m painting. Either way the hunt is on!)

Improve friendship correspondence/mend neglected relationships (I need some quality time with people that I hold dear… who may have forgotten that I do)

Cook more at home (Everyone knows I love a restaurant more than just about anything, but I miss cooking at home, especially for a group of people. I’m reinstating a standing dinner party at my house like I did in France & occasionally here, in DC. Time to dust off the cookbooks.)

Take back up my regular yoga classes & acupuncture appointments (Not only does it help with my health issues, there is something really powerful about taking an hour out of your life to do something wholly for yourself & then be able to pass a better version of you onto others.)

Read 1 book a week (Ouf… this a lofty one, but I think I can do it. How I miss reading on the Paris metro & plowing through books… le sigh.)

Complete 1 creative project a month (I need a brain work out… and it can’t be 100% comprised of photography. Let’s shake this up.)

Volunteer (Suggested opportunities welcome!)

1 oversees vacation (I don’t know how this happened to me. ME!?! But I’ve only taken one (albeit amazing) trip in the last 3 years since moving back stateside… this shall not stand.)

Discover new spots in the US (All of my US travel as of late have been to visit friends & family only… I need to explore. I see the west in my future.)

Stop beating myself up about what I don’t accomplish & celebrate the things that I do. (Now there’s the hardest of them all. “Stop worrying” is wrapped up in that one… it’s a doozy.)

Make nice with bloggity blog…

But let’s be serious, it’s all about the hair…

PS Google Image search “mermaid hair” & the results are pretty ridiculous. For the record, that is not what I had in mind! Here, I did the work for you: YIKES!

Very excited to be in Food Arts Magazine again! Last month, magazine founder, Ariane Batterberry, Joan Nathan and I raced around the DC area hopping from dinner to dinner for the wonderful Sips & Suppersevent (read more about that here). This month, Ariane recounted her impression’s of exploring DC’s booming food scene in her editor’s note. What a nice present to come home to from Iceland! (just you wait for those pictures…)

After the tasting for the public wrapped up, we moved up to the grand ballrooms in the Willard for a cocktail reception followed by an amazing dinner. It goes without saying, that things got a little sillier at this point!

Like I could resist photographing the delicious food…

French Ambassador, François Delattre, addressed the attendees (including the Portuguese and Finnish Ambassadors) about the importance of the wine industry in Bordeaux and the strong relationship between the US and France.

It finally went public this week that Marjie is taking over for Logan Cox when he leaves Ripple in just a couple of weeks! We’ve all loved Marjie’s work at Chef Mike Isabella’s Graffiato, and I’m just so happy that Logan’s successor at a restaurant that prides itself on sourcing locally came from right here in DC.

We did a bunch of portraits of Marjie in her new digs yesterday… and just in time: Plate Magazine made a photo request before I had even gotten home from the shoot!

Much thanks to Bijan Jabbari who reports to Le Figaro from Washington. You can see the article below. My photo is the 2nd one of many of the winemakers with the Ambassador of France, François Delattre.